『“How could you keep a petty, scheming small man under you?”』

On learning that the would-be patron was a petty, scheming small man, Zihwa immediately offered the opinion that it would be best to turn him into Spirit Stones on the spot.

When even keeping someone brimming with loyalty can be unsatisfactory, it was only natural to balk at a petty schemer.

Perhaps because she had memories of what her own clan had done to her, Zihwa even said she couldn’t trust her own clan—so how could she trust a petty man?

The way Hwangwoo’s eyes swore loyalty looked just like a stray cat wagging its tail before a fishmonger, so it clearly rubbed her the wrong way.

What’s more, if what this guy said was true, the City Lords and those with large forces here in the Nine Heavens liked cultivators who came from the Central Plains Martial World, so there were plenty of options.

It was certain we could find someone better if we looked.

At those words, the Princess and Hwa-eun nodded.

『“Right.”

“Same here.”』

When everyone’s gaze swung back to the fellow named Hwangwoo, he gulped.

Just then, pushing through the brush from the village side, Yohwa and Gungbong appeared.

–Kish! 『Brother!』

“So-ryong.”

Judging by expression and bearing, it seemed Soto was controlling the body in place of Gungbong; as soon as Yohwa spotted me, she broke into a delighted look and tried to run into my arms.

–Kishish. 『Ugh—ah, right... I can’t touch Brother here anymore...』

But in human form, Yohwa ran up to wrap her arms around my side and then swept the empty air.

It seemed she’d briefly forgotten that here I couldn’t be touched.

‘It looks like they’re all still not used to this.’

I was thinking it was obvious everyone still wasn’t used to things when a question came in.

–Kish. 『Brother, what were you doing here?』

“So-ryong, what were you doing? Hm? And those people?”

“I just caught these guys and was interrogating them...”

–Kishit. 『So, new ones again.』

“Yeah.”

I was in the middle of explaining the situation to Yohwa and Soto, who had shown up suddenly.

It occurred to me that I’d asked for Yohwa because Cho had to block the hideout entrance.

If we wanted to spend tonight in peace, we needed to secure the door to the hideout.

“Oh—Yohwa, could you step outside Poison Fragrance for a moment? Cho is waiting outside to block the hideout entrance.”

–Kish. 『Really? Then I’ll go right now.』

As Yohwa vanished to become smoke, Zihwa’s voice came.

『“You?”』

Zihwa was looking at me as if urging a decision.

And Soto, sensing something off from the mood, asked a question.

“Did something happen?”

[Ah, well, it’s like this......]

I quietly explained the general situation to Soto.

I wanted to hear the thoughts of the sharp-witted Soto, and he immediately shook his head fast.

[I’m against it.]

If the clever Soto was against it, there had to be rational reasons.

Right on his heels came Gun Hye-rin’s voice.

[I’m of the same mind.]

Even Gun Hye-rin, who had been silent until now, voiced opposition.

Everyone looked at Gun Hye-rin with a surprised expression.

Which made sense—since Gun Hye-rin was a former cult leader of the Celestial Demon Divine Sect, you’d think she’d recommend turning him into Spirit Stones more than anyone.

If you talk end-boss of the demonic path in the Central Plains Martial World, it’s the Celestial Demon Divine Sect, isn’t it?

The place in the Central Plains thought to take human life most lightly is precisely the Celestial Demon Divine Sect, so of course we’d assumed she’d recommend the Spirit-Stone route.

[Is there a reason?]

At Hwa-eun’s question, Soto and Gun Hye-rin nodded, and soon various points started flying.

[First off, didn’t he say he’d keep offering tribute if we spare him? That seems more profitable. I’ve heard that extracting Spirit Stones with the Great Method yields less in the long run—once you mine them like that, it takes quite a long time before you can mine again, right?]

[But wouldn’t it be better to find someone else than a slippery, faithless man like that? They say they value those from the Central Plains Martial World here in the Nine Heavens.]

[That’s true, but wouldn’t it be dangerous since we don’t know what the others are like? With this one, at least we know he’s petty and can be cautious in advance—how would you know the deepest hearts of those who approach you?]

[Also, to look for other people, So-ryong would have to reveal his realm to them, which seems risky.]

[That’s true.]

They say the Realm of Cultivators has a high density of qi, and sure enough, Gun Hye-rin sounded like a different person—sharp.

Setting aside martial arts, where she’s a bit loose, Gun Hye-rin was making very smart points.

Adding in Soto’s view made their argument even more convincing, and they weren’t wrong.

If, as he said, word spread that I came from the Central Plains Martial World, various people would try to make contact with me.

But there was no way to check what intentions those who approached held.

Among them, some might be well-intentioned, but it was certain there would be more bad ones.

How do you read a person’s heart?

Although I was excellent at seeing through poisons and spirit beasts, my eye for people was quite weak, so my mind tilted quickly.

Of course, there was the option of feeding them Young Lady Cheong-yu’s poison, but thinking of that guy from before, there are likely many with ways to avoid it.

And as Soto said, to look for other people I’d have to show my realm, which meant laying my identity wide open here and there, and that I was reluctant to do.

Taking all sorts of things into account, it wasn’t easy to find a new person to worship me.

The option of ‘If I don’t like him, I’ll just turn him into Spirit Stones right away and then find a new one’ fell into the category of very difficult tasks.

Beside me, Ji-ryeon also nodded in agreement.

[I did ask His Majesty once why he kept foolish men or petty men at his side, and he said loyal men are as rare as the coming of good fortune, while petty men are as many as grains of sand. So there’s nothing particularly special about this one.]

[Hm. If His Majesty said so.]

[I see.]

When even the Princess shifted to the opposing view, Hwa-eun and Zihwa nodded.

Soto added a word.

[And as for killing—if he betrays us or something, can’t we kill him then?]

[Not kill. Turn him into Spirit Stones.]

[Ah, right, Spirit Stones.]

Soto used a rough word.

Kill—what a scary thing to say.

This must be the influence of Gungbong.

After pointing that out, I looked back to settle how to handle the fellow, and a hurried voice came from him.

“Th-that’s it! Elder! I—I have a gi—gift in my bosom.”

“A gift?”

“Yes, Elder!”

He must have thought I was about to make an unfavorable decision; honestly, I had already shelved the thought of turning this guy into Spirit Pellets.

If we spared him, he’d keep offering tribute like a goose that lays golden eggs.

And to find another guy, I’d have to shout everywhere that I’d come from the Central Plains Martial World; I didn’t want to do that, and on reflection I realized that finding another patron wasn’t all that easy.

Also, that river bandit Lee Tae I had kept around in the Central Plains was frankly quite the schemer.

But once I kept and used him, it wasn’t bad.

As long as my position was firm and I gave proper support, he wouldn’t necessarily betray me. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

This fellow didn’t seem to be lying, either.

And perhaps because of that “sycophant passive,” above all he had the advantage(?) of speaking sweetly.

Sweet as honey.

To the point that it made you understand why, in the history of my former life, kings believed the words of their sycophants as if they were ironclad truth.

‘If the ministers are always fighting each other, “Please condescend to take heed,” wouldn’t the king go full menhera? And if a sycophant comforts him there, of course he’d fall for it.’

If you recognize that the other side wags a sweet tongue, it’s surprisingly advantageous psychologically.

“No, there’s no need for that...”

Thinking, let’s make use of him anyway, and since I’d be squeezing him for tribute, I said there was no need to do that already, but the fellow pleaded earnestly.

“N-no. P-please accept it.”

“Good grief.”

If I didn’t accept it, he probably thought we’d kill him, judging by the way he begged.

With an awkward look, I approached him and laid him flat.

If he was giving, I’d take it, for now.

“Where in your bosom?”

To check his bosom, I grasped his lapel and pulled it open.

And as I slipped my hand in and groped the filthy hair-covered chest—

“H-heuhk. E-Elder.”

A creepy moan came out.

When I looked at him, he’d thrown his head back, cheeks flushing red.

Suddenly my fist clenched on its own, and my wives’ voices came in like blades.

“I suddenly feel disgusted.”

“Me too. I’m thinking whether sparing him is really right.”

“I feel like I heard something I shouldn’t have.”

I felt the same.

***

What he offered up was a Spirit Stone full of water-attribute qi.

And he handed over his private vault and all the Spirit Stones and valuables he’d stored there.

“Please accept this provisional offering. I will prepare a formal one shortly.”

“No, this is a bit...”

“Not at all. It’s my way of saying I look forward to your guidance.”

“Well, fine. There’ve been misunderstandings between us, but I’m glad we’ve cleared them up. I look forward to working together.”

“Y-yes, I’m the one who’s grateful.”

For the moment, I decided to take him into the village and talk over tea.

We needed to hear how the Nine Heavens ran and such.

Zihwa had come down from a place far too high up, so she didn’t know the lay of the land down here.

“In any case, let’s go inside, have some tea, and talk.”

“Ah, understood.”

Leaving his subordinates for now, I took him along to the village center.

The center of the village had a relaxed feel.

Spirit beasts in human form were sprawled on bamboo platforms, and nearby kids in spirit-beast form lay prone.

It looked like they were spending a languid moment.

“So-ryong, you’re back?”

“Seol, Sister.”

Sister Seol, who had been sitting cross-legged cultivating internal energy, opened her eyes and greeted me, and then all the kids swarmed over at once.

–Buuuuung.

–Tzzzzzz. 『Dad!』

–Grrrr. 『So-ryong.』

When both the kids in human form and the kids in spirit-beast form crowded in, Hwangwoo asked with a startled look,

“S-spirit beasts?”

It seemed he was startled by the sudden rush of spirit beasts.

Pushing through the children as I walked, I said,

“Ah, they’re my family.”

“By family, you mean...?”

“Well, there are children and there’s my sister and such.”

“C-could it be you were born a spirit beast?”

“No, I’m human. It’s just that we became family to one another.”

“I-I see.”

Hwangwoo, who had been shocked thinking I was born a spirit beast, looked slightly relieved to learn I wasn’t.

When I asked why, as expected it was because of the standoff among the three powers.

Humans, spirit beasts, and demonfolk each held their own spheres of influence here in the Nine Heavens, facing off.

If I were born a spirit beast, it seemed I might be saddled with suspicions of collusion.

Although the human faction was scattered into walled towns, there was something like a City Lords’ Association, and they helped one another.

I was thinking that, had we turned him into Spirit Stones, things might have gotten quite troublesome, when the fellow asked,

“Is there anything you would have me do?”

Whatever else might be said, I acknowledged one thing about this guy.

His sense of the situation was insanely quick.

Patting his shoulder as if in approval, I said,

“Whatever else, I like that your sense of things is quick.”

“Th-thank you!”

I hadn’t said much, but he looked ready to lick my feet.

I asked the fellow,

“I’m looking for someone—a cultivator who came up from the Central Plains Martial World at least four or five hundred years ago. Could you look into his movements? Or perhaps you already know.”

“Four or five hundred years ago would be long before I ascended to the Nine Heavens. Who might it be?”

“A man named Tang Hwa-seong.”

What I was curious about was the movements of my own master, Senior Tang Hwa-seong.

Since people who came up from the Central Plains Martial World were said to be famous, I had some hopes, but at my question, Hwangwoo tilted his head and answered,

“That’s a cultivator I haven’t heard of. Why, if I may ask... Ah—no. I misspoke! I’ll look into it at once!”

Quick on the uptake, he didn’t even ask for the reason.

Thinking that deciding not to turn him into Spirit Stones might not be a bad call, I asked,

“Good, I’ll leave it to you. Do you have a way?”

“O-of course. Buying and selling cultivators is the business of those Blood Market Tower bastards, but they buy and sell information too.”

Those Blood Market Tower bastards were brought up yet again.